crossing_jordanfandomcom-20200213-history
Lesley Ann Warren
Lesley Ann Warren youngest actor ever to have attended NY's Actors Studio, when she was 17. Was student at School of American Ballet when she switched to acting. Lives in LA with her companion Ronald Taft, an ad executive. Auditioned for the role of Liesl in The Sound of Music (1965). Tried out for the role of Lois Lane in Superman (1978), but lost to Margot Kidder. Is a vegetarian. She has a son, Christopher Peters, from producer Jon Peters. Her father was a World War II vet and realtor while her mother was a nightclub singer who stopped working when Lesley Ann was born. At age 13, she won a scholarship to study with ballet legend George Balanchine. She once enrolled in an acting class with drama coach Stella Adler. Warren says she won the highly-coveted part of Susan's high-maintenance mom "Sophie" on "Desperate Housewives" (2004) because of her son, Christopher Peters. Was supposed to play the role of Brenda in Goodbye, Columbus (1969), but she got pregnant and had to be replaced. Ali MacGraw then got the part. Was very proud of her work in Willing to Kill: The Texas Cheerleader Story (1992) (TV), and was disappointed that it got clobbered by an HBO movie on the same story (The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (1993) (TV)) that came out at about the same time, starring Holly Hunter. Started working on her first Broadway show (110 in the Shade) at sixteen and a half years old. When she first auditioned for Cinderella, she was so nervous that the audition tanked. She had to audition a second time, and then was hired. Of all her television experiences, Warren said she had an especially great time on "Will & Grace" (1998) and "Dr. Kildare" (1961), and that her favorite television experience was the making of Cinderella (1965) (TV). Says her favorite genre is the Musical. Starred in an early 1970s busted TV pilot as "Cat Ballou," the role Jane Fonda made famous on film. Walt Disney hand-picked Lesley for the ingénue role in the film The Happiest Millionaire (1967) after her "Cinderella" success. This film was the last live-action movie Disney supervised before his death. Was extremely upset at first about her performance as the gangster's moll in Victor Victoria (1982) prior to its release, having thought she went horribly over the top. She did go over the top and the audiences loved her for it. Lesley was nominated for a "Supporting Actress" Academy Award, her only nod so far. Lesley was to co-star in the beautician comedy series "Snip" (1976), a TV takeoff of the Warren Beatty movie Shampoo (1975) starring David Brenner as a divorced hairdresser. Just before its scheduled September 30, 1976, debut, NBC abruptly canceled the show, so fast in fact that TV Guide did not even have time to remove a special feature on the show in its Fall Preview of September 18-24, 1976. Why? One of the show's supporting characters, a fellow hairdresser named "Michael", was openly gay and NBC got cold feet at the last minute. Had "Snip" (1976) premiered, it would have been a first on American series TV. Instead, Billy Crystal went on to receive that honor with his gay character a year later on the popular series "Soap" (1977). Seven episodes of "Snip" (1976) were completed when it got the ax. The only place the series ended up airing was in Australia, and it became the highest rated show in Australian history up until that time. Played Lois Lane in a television production of the musical Superman (1975) (TV), and later screen tested for the role in Superman (1978). Friend of Marianne Williamson. Was fired after only the second day of filming for Devil You Know (2009) due to reported unreasonable 'diva' demands and tantrums. Similar reports were made back in 1997 when Warren wasn't getting star treatment for her Broadway show: 'Dream: the Johnny Mercer Musical Revue'. Appeared as one of the celebrity models in a charity fashion show staged by Thierry Mugler to benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles. 1992 Was in a relationship with choreographer Jeffrey Hornaday (1980-1987). Was originally offered Jean Seberg's role in Paint Your Wagon (1969). Won the most promising newcomer on Broadway for her work in 110 in the shade in 1963. Suffered from Anorexia nervosa in her teen years and into her twenties. Offered the stage role of Norma Cassidy (her Oscar-nominated role) in the stage version of "Victor/Victor" starring Julie Andrews, but had to turn it down due to other movie commitments.' '